Milwaukee area commercial real estate markets continue improving

The Milwaukee area's office, industrial and retail real estate markets continued to improve during the third quarter, according to the latest survey released Tuesday by Commercial Association of Realtors-Wisconsin and Xceligent.

The office market's vacancy rate was 20.6%, compared to 20.8% at the end of the second quarter, the survey said. The downtown/central business district again outperformed the suburban markets, with its vacancy rate falling to 20.3% from 21.4%.

The industrial market continued its long streak of improvements, with the vacancy rate dropping to 6% from 6.6%.

Finally, the retail market's vacancy rate was 7.7%, including a 0.9% rate for space in regional shopping centers, a category that includes properties such as Mayfair and Bayshore Town Center. That dropped from a second quarter rate of 7.8%.

Commercial Real Estate News

For decades, Brookfield's Blue Mound Road has been the Milwaukee area's busiest retail corridor, extending westward from its anchor at Brookfield Square mall to Barker Road.

Now, that landscape is changing, with five major retail projects under construction — including Brookfield Square's latest redevelopment phase, and the Von Maur department store-anchored retail center known as The Corners.

Blue Mound Road features dozens of shopping centers and stand-alone retail buildings on the three-mile stretch between Moorland and Barker Roads. Those buildings have long enjoyed high occupancy rates, said Bruce Westling, principal at NAI MLG Commercial and a veteran retail leasing broker.(13)